Speaker Ryan dismisses rumors of special counsel Mueller's dismissal

In response to widespread speculation that President Donald Trump may soon dismiss special counsel Robert Mueller, political commentator and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich told Fox News that the president should instead "focus on being president." In the Monday interview, when he was asked whether Trump is right to question the investigation that Mueller is conducting, Gingrich said, "No, I don't think he's doing the right thing. ... The president ought to just drop this whole line of worrying about Mueller.”

Gingrich added, “Focus on being president. Mueller is going to be taken care of. Mueller, in the end, is, I think, not going to have anything substantive about the president.” He then called on the president to “quit doing this stuff." Gingrich said, "Focus on tweeting about things that move his presidency forward," and added, "And just every time he starts to think about Mueller, quit thinking about him and go back to the presidency."

Trump made several comments on Twitter and elsewhere over the March 10-11 weekend that called into question Mueller's conduct of a probe into the 2016 presidential election. On Tuesday, House Speaker Tim Ryan said that he has received "assurances" that President Trump is not considering firing Mueller. In a news conference, Ryan said, "The special counsel should be free to follow through with his investigation to its completion without interference," the Wisconsin Republican said during a House GOP leadership news conference. "Absolutely, I am confident that he will be allowed to do that."

Ryan added, "I have received assurances that his firing is not even under consideration. We have a system based upon the rule of law in this country. We have a justice system and no one is based on that justice system."

Ryan and other Congressional Republicans have expressed support for Mueller. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not made any public statement like those condemning Mueller. On Sunday, White House special counsel Ty Cobb released a statement saying that Trump is not considering firing Mueller. Also, Trump is adding prominent attorney Joseph diGenova to his personal legal team. DiGenova, a former U.S. attorney, has assailed the FBI and Department of Justice for what he believes is criminal mishandling of investigations into Trump.